Zul'jin
Zul'jin is a Ranged Assassin Hero from the Warcraft universe. Before the elves and their Alliance, the forests of Lordaeron belonged to the trolls of the Amani Empire. As their warlord, Zul'jin, has united the tribes into an army that stands ready to take back what is theirs and to slay the elves who stole it from them. Background Zul'jin is a warlord of the Amani forest trolls and has been chieftain of the Amani tribe since before the Second War. Zul'jin and the Amani tribe were allied with the orcish Horde for the duration of the Second War, but Zul'jin himself was captured near its end by the Alliance. Upon gaining his freedom he went into hiding to rebuild his army and plan an attack on the remnants of the high elves, now known as blood elves, only to find them allied with the Horde.From WoWWiki Gameplay Summary Zul'jin is a high-risk, high-reward Assassin who becomes stronger the lower his health is, thanks to his trait, . Under the right circumstances, Zul'jin can dish out an insane amount of damage in little time. Overall, Zul'jin is flexible as he can fit either the role of a Sustained Basic Attacker, or a "Mage" with high Ability Damage, depending how he is talented. Because of this, he fits on most team compositions, although it is imperative to have a good frontline and healing so he can fight to his full potential. Strengths *Outstanding Basic Attack damage output when at low health thanks to . **Can permanently increase his Basic Attack range and receive a buff to by completing the passive quest, You Want Axe? *Can be talented into either a Basic Attack Damage or Ability Damage. *Very potent duelist. *High area-of-effect burst damage through and . *Can become quite efficient at waveclear if talented into either or . *Can become temporarily unkillable with , which synergizes well with . * is invaluble in order to allow Zul'jin to recover quickly after having spent his health to increase his own damage or having taken large amounts of damage after a fight/encounter. *Can dish out ludacris amounts of damage with a well placed . *Exellent at wearing down high health opponents. *Can do very well against heroes with Taunt, such as Varian or Garrosh. Weaknesses *High learning curve. *Is incredibly reliant on correct health-management because of , as too much health can risk weakening Zul'jin's damage output, where as too little health will risk getting the already squishy Hero killed very quickly, especially if is picked. * is relatively easy to avoid. * is a predictable and difficult to land skillshot, which can be easily wasted if used at high health. *Possesses little to no mobility, even with the talent. *Completely shutdown by Blinds. *Highly susceptible to crowd control, focus fire, diving and ganking. Abilities Trait Heroic Abilities Talents Tier 1, Hero Level 1 Tier 2, Hero Level 4 Tier 3, Hero Level 7 Tier 4, Hero Level 10 Tier 5, Hero Level 13 Tier 6, Hero Level 16 Tier 7, Hero Level 20 Talent Builds *Basic Attack Build: focused on maximizing the high single target damage output of Zul'jin's basic attacks through combined with This build is recommended in most situations, except when facing compositions that feature many sources of Blind and/or physical armor. *Grievous Throw Build: focused on improving to maximize its power and utility, allowing it to pierce multiple opponents, thanks to , as well ignore armor through . This build is mostly recommended against multi-Warrior compositions, and/or when the team has ways to increase armor effects (such as Uther's ). *Twin Cleave Build: focused on improving to maximize Zul'jin area-of-effect damage and poke potential. Because of this, the main focus of this build is to complete "You Want Axe?" as fast as possible, as it makes Twin Cleave revolve twice, which synergizes with the repeatable quest talent . This build is mostly recommended when facing various Ranged-based Heroes, as Twin Cleave is very powerful at harassing the backline. Tips *Learning when to activate and deactivate is key to play Zul'jin; it is important to not tunnel vision and forget to turn it off at critical moments, which can lead into Zul'jin being at very low health and compromising a team fight. *Positioning is very important when using , as it will mark only the first two targets hit (including structures). So avoid using it to hit a Hero if there are too many minions in the way. *Don't be afraid to use preemptively if the enemy team features too many stuns and/or silences that can prevent its cast at low health. * has a small delay after cast, so make sure to pay attention to the opponents' path to avoid missing. Matchups Pairings Zul'jin is best paired with a strong frontline capable of providing peeling and crowd control, as well Support Heroes that can enable him during critical moments. Since Zul'jin deals more damage the lower his health is, he performs better with Heroes that can provide Shielding and/or damage reduction buffs. E.T.C. offers great peeling to protect Zul'jin from potential ganks. In addition, a well timed can give Zul'jin a opening to unleash on his foes. While Lt. Morales's high single target healing can actually hinder Zul'jin's damage potential, her greatly amplifies Zul'jin's damage potential, specially during . Tassadar's provides Zul'jin with constant protection, allowing him to stay on low health for longer periods, and therefore, deal more damage. Tyrael provides a solid frontline with a blend of utility and support. However, the true synergy lies in , which will completely protect Zul'jin and allow him to maximize his damage through . Uther's high burst healing and passive armor buff are great to keep Zul'jin on his toes. However, similarly to Tyrael, the true synergy lies in (which can result into even more powerful results if Tyrael is also in the same composition). In a similar fashion to Tassadar, Zarya's synergizes with Zul'jin's gameplay style of keeping at low health for higher damage. Effective against Zul'jin is a very potent duelist, being able to win most 1v1 situations. Regardless of how he is built, he can destroy squishy opponents at ease, especially those with poor mobility. Effective foes Zul'jin is very susceptible to dives and ganks, as well crowd control such as stuns and silences, which can prevent him to use at critical moments. Heroes that can inflict blind also heavily hinder his damage output. Skins ;Warlord of the Amani (base) ;Warbringer Zul'jin :Prior to the Troll Wars, the Amani Empire was a great and powerful civilization. Zul'jin has rekindled the flames of its former warlords, and has donned their ceremonial battle armor as a sign of respect. ;Emberlord :The Emberlords seldom leave their molten domains, choosing to emerge only when the earth's rage demands retribution. Once they are on the warpath, nothing can withstand their fury. ;Lunar :For Azeroth's trolls, the loa are a central part of the Lunar Festival. Shadow hunters celebrate the powerful spirits by crafting elaborate masks in their likeness. Development Zul'jin was showcased as a character in BlizzCon 2013.2013-11-09, Heroes Skin Showcase - Heroes of the Storm - Blizzcon 2013. YouTube, accessed on 2014-03-09 He was conceived within the first two years of the game's development.2016-11-21, BlizzCon 2016 Heroes of the Storm Deep Dive Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2016-11-21 As of December 2014, he was still intended for inclusion, but his release date was unknown.2014-12-05, HEROES OF THE STORM AMA TRANSCRIPT. Blizzpro, accessed on 2014-12-07 At BlizzCon 2016, he was accidentally listed as a completed hero, but no release date was given for him. He was revealed as an upcoming hero in December, 2016.2016-12-27, In Development: Zul’jin, New Skins, and More!. YouTube, accessed on 2016-12-28 Patch changes * * * * * * * * * References Category:Heroes Category:Troll Category:Assassin